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I drive a 1995 540i with 185k miles. It has new motor mounts, struts and front brakes installed. I am trying to troubleshoot a loud clunking coming from the passenger side front end. It seems there is metal to metal contact when I go over certain types of road bumps. The front seems to be bottoming out.

Have a friend walk along the car beside the passenger front wheel as you creep along at about 3-7 mph. Stab the brakes and have your friend observe if the wheel jerks backwards in the wheel well. It probably will. If so, this confirms that the thrust arms are poo.

At that mileage, it is recommended to rebuild the entire front suspension. It can be done if you are a decent DIY kind of guy.

If you plan to do the work yourself, you should obtain a copy of the Bentley manual. It covers how to do the work. I recommend only Lemforder or Meyle parts. The cheap stuff will not last long. Plan on ~ $800-$1000 for parts. One thing that is key is that the bolts for the thrust arms and control arms must be torqued while the car is loaded. Again, the Bentley manual covers this.

Also there are some good YouTube videos of people replacing some of the stuff.

Good to be part of the 'fest...
Thanks for the quick replies.
I'll be getting greasy soon as this problem has been with me for over a year - and scares anyone that is in the passenger seat. (The local mechanic has gone over the front end a bit but has come up empty.)
I'll advise once I get into the project.

roger that !
No problem at speed or braking (hard or soft)
The steering is loose but that is a steering box adjustment I believe.
Got the car w/136K miles about 4 years ago and use it as my every day driver.
It just runs so I have been weighing the options of whether to repair the front end or replace the car..... my Bimmer buddies on the Left Coast would not let me live down a replacement by another brand.....

Looks like the thrust arms are the culprit - after returning from Lime Rock (car show yesterday) my friend acted as an observer and verified wheel movement.
THANKS for the advice! Tomorrow, on the horn to the parts vendor - 002 BMW Parts - to discuss how many and what... Have a nice holiday guys.

Front end rebuild parts now on order - should be in house next week - rebuild to start 9-19 - we'll see what falls apart as its being removed. Gotta do an engine compartment and under carriage Gunk and power wash as there is a leaky pwr steering reservoir hose weeping its goo around.

Another day, a new problem to solve - to those in the know.....
I am experiencing a sticking throttle - here are the details: started about 9 months ago when I was in cruise control and started at 65MPH however after a few hills, was going 90+MPH.
A quick look under the hood showed a cracked and corroded cruise actuator cable - so I squirted a little WD40 and the problem went away for a few months. It came back again and some more lubricant and ordered new cruise and throttle cables. Just got around to installing them and went for a road trip to Philadelphia. Well, I was fighting to keep the car from going Mach II speeds as the throttle was intermittently sticking again. Now back home and some more under the hood inspection. It looks like the cables are free from sticking and the spring assembly is working OK. I took off the rubber intake hose (between Mass flow sensor and intake) and took a look at the throttle plate - all seemed to operate OK. I did notice that there is a throttle position sensor (on the opposite end of the throttle plate shaft) and that may be the culprit. I did remove and reattach the electrical plug on this sensor but could not remove it as the screws seemed to be frozen in place. I will squirt a bit of penetrating oil and try to remove again.

I had the same issue some lube and driving the $#!^ out of my new car got it freed up. Just need to work in in really well, mine stuck more toward higher throttle i guess because most people don't get into it much. It worked out during MY break in period. I would make sure there is no carbon build up in the throttle helping it stick.